[BretLudwig]

((I hope they "Rahm" it up his ass. Bret.))


Wallowing Again

"Did Obama direct or ask any staffer to speak to Blagojevich? Did Rahm
Emanuel or David Axelrod, both of Chicago, never speak to the governor
about the Senate appointment? Did Baracks aides all treat Blagojevich
as a political leper and not communicate to him any interest in or concern
about whom he might appoint to succeed Obama?

by Patrick J. Buchanan


€œSomething is rotten in the state,€� says Marcellus in €œHamlet.€�

Well, it certainly is in the state of Illinois.

Yet, on hearing U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald describe a plot by his
governor to sell his Senate seat €” €œconduct (that) would make Lincoln
roll over in his grave€� €” how did reform President Barack Obama
respond?

€œI had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not
aware of what was happening. €¦ And as I said, it is a sad day for
Illinois. Beyond that, I dont think its appropriate to comment.€�

€œA sad day for Illinois€� €” that was it.

But FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant could not contain his
revulsion: €œIf (Illinois) isnt the most corrupt state in the United
States, its certainly one hell of a competitor. I think even the most
cynical agents in our office were shocked.€�

Yet Barack stayed cool. Not for 24 hours did he join the clamor for Gov.
Rod Blagojevich to stand down.

The stink of this is not going away, and it may adhere to the new
presidency that seemed about to begin in a new era of good feeling.

For, consider. While Obama said he had never spoken with the governor
about the Senate seat €” understandable, given how toxic the
scandal-plagued Blagojevich was €” he did not say his staff had not done
so.

Which raises several questions:

Did Obama direct or ask any staffer to speak to Blagojevich? Did Rahm
Emanuel or David Axelrod, both of Chicago, never speak to the governor
about the Senate appointment? Did Baracks aides all treat Blagojevich
as a political leper and not communicate to him any interest in or concern
about whom he might appoint to succeed Obama?

This defies credulity.

On the other hand, if Obamas staffers did talk to Blagojevich or his
staff, did the governor or his men suggest a big-time pay-off might
purchase a Senate seat?

For Blagojevich is overheard on the wiretaps complaining that all that
Obama, whom he slurs nastily, was offering was gratitude.

How did Blagojevich know that?

Who told him Barack would not pony up and play ball? And if any Obama aide
was solicited for a bribe, did they relate that to Obama? Did they report
it to the FBI or the U.S. attorneys office?

Forty-eight hours into Senategate and already the cancer has metastasized.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been dragged in. He is €œSenate Candidate 5€³
on the wiretaps. From the FBI transcripts, it appears a Jackson
€œemissary,€� with access to the governor, offered to raise half a
million for Blagojevichs re-election, in return for naming Jackson to
the Senate. With perhaps a million more to follow.

Jackson says he met for 90 minutes with the governor Monday and made his
case for the Senate appointment €” on his record alone. Jackson
emphasized that he was not solicited by the governor for a bribe, nor was
any emissary ever authorized to offer the governor anything.

Jacksons lawyer backs him up, but says that some supporter, without
Jacksons knowledge, might have freelanced on his own.

There are other puzzling questions.

CONTINUED--"


http://buchanan.org/blog/2008/12/pjb-wallowing-again/

http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=6219

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